COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15917, 2 June 1917, Page 11

COMMERCIAL.

(Bv Cable —Press Association —Copyright.) (Australian and X.Z. Cable Association.) BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. LONDON, May 31. The Bank of England returns issued on Wednesday, May 30th, afford tho following comparison:— Jlav 23. Jtiiv 30. £ £ Coin .. •• 5-2.6915.n00 53.695.Q00 litflprvt .. ytjSSOjOOO oIjOoOjOOO Proportion of reserve to liabilities •• ISMS 19.52 Circulation .. ... "3.596.000 ".D.QI 0.000

Government deposits .. 17. i'JO.oSO 57.139,000! Other deposits .. J!!! ,604,000 110,481.000 | flovcniliipnt. oecuritics 45,044.000 45,0X0.000 j Other securities .. 116.611,000 115,035.000 . Short loans, 42 per ccnt.; three months' bills, 4 13-16 per ccnt. ' GOVERNMENT, SECURITIES. < The following aro tho latest quota- | * tions for (Jovernment securities, with a j t comparison with those ruiina last week: Price Price 1 laat week. to-day. , £ n. d. Z. s. <!. . 'IS Tvr rent. Imp. Con. 55 10 0 55 10 0 s~per ccnt.. War L/oan .. 01 7 (4 04 10 0 ,1i per ccnt. War Loan .. F7 0 0 87 o o < i per cout. War .. 01 0 0 9t 0 0 X.S.W. -l's, 1333, Jan. , .Tlv .. .. SI 5 0 sr. 5 0 X.S.'W'.'IOSO-50, MckSept. .. .. ns 7 G fis 7 H ; v.S.W ui's car!"' turvriov 70 7 C 70 7 (> X.S.W. "3'F, 1926, Apl.- ! Oct. ..70 5 0 70 '2 6 Vic. 4'* 1920. Jan.-,Tlv. 05 i 0 05 10 0 Vie. 1921-26, Jan.- • j ,Tlv. .. .. S5 2 (! R3 5 0: Vic. 3Vs. 1020-10 7(1 in 0 70 1 0 0 Vic. 3'i, 1020-40. .Taa-l'y. t>3 2 G C 3 7 G ; Qland. l's, 1315-09, Jan.- j ■II y. • . .. 91 3 0 91 J 0 Qland. SJ'fl, 1921-30, Jan.- | - Xaw .. .. 87 15 0 87 12 G i Q'.and. 3's, 13C2-17, Jan.- j Jlr. .. .. C-! 2 fi m 10 0 X.Z. .)'f, 1929, Mhv-Xov. fi) 7 C fis 10 0 j V 5.7.. .IVs. 1040. Jan-Jiv. 7.117 r, 71 '2 li 1 5.7., It's. 1045. Anl.-Ort. fi:i ]f| n nn 10 o ■ S.A. ri's, 1939, JaD-J!v 72 -2 (i 71 10 0 S.A. .Ts, 101 C or afiir, Jan -JJy. .. .. 69 10 0 GO 10 0 ■ Tae. Zh's, 1920-40, .Tan.Jiy. .. 73 o o 73 2 r» Xae. 1020-10, Jan.J'r. •• .. 61 0 0 64 0 0 CEREALS. (Rcccived June Ist, 10.35 p.m.) LONDON, June 1. Wheat—There is none on offer. Flour—Stocks are scarce and prices nominally unchanged. 'Oats. peas, and beans—The market j is dull and unchanged. SUGAR. j Standard granulated 4s 6d. DAIRY PRODUCE. j Butter—The Food Commission, hav- '• ing raised all prices, the butter trade is at a standstill. There are good supplies of all descriptions, but buyers are holding off owing to the diminished consumption, also to an impression that retail prices may be fixed below tho present level. Danish is nominally about 2025, choicest Australian ]86s to 190s, and New Zealand 1903 to 1945. Cheese—Business is suspended till supplies are released. METALS. Copper—Spot £130 os. three months' £129 IQs. electrolytic £140. Lead—Spot £30 10s. three ' mon f hs £29 10s. >roller—Spot £5-1. three months Jjso. Tin—Spot £2->3 15s. three months £250 LX j S:!'.i;r- ;j£d por c— |

MELBOUR.N K AUK F.TS. -MEFiBOL"I?NK. .Juno 1. }>;i!-lcv—Chovalier, Is 3d to 4s 'i r l. Capo. 3s to I'd. Oats—Milling;. Us 4<J to 2s fid ; i'oefl. '_>.s Id to I,'s 'J(l. Potatot I *—£p, Jo £'4 os por ton. Onions- — —4 ]0s to £5 per ton. GRAIN AND "PRODUCK MAR (»r ovk coiiiiEr.ri.u, editor.) l'*ritla.v Evening. Ihe jrrain market is very 011 iOl, there jiracticalK' no wheat o r oats offor'nS- Advico lias been vccoiwd i'rotn Auckland lhat some Australian oats puicliasod liavo been resold or tl'e nrdtrs cancpllod. r l I'i.s is jirobably in view of the. fact tiiat too sliippinj; sparo v\ ill be required for wheat over. Some samples of Qiieonsland wheat, liavo been rcc-eived in CJiristchiireh. which is offered at a nr.icli lower rate than tl.ar, fixed in the other States. Queensland and Tasmania ure not in the wheat pool, as it was considered that they would rot have an exportable surplus, but it has turned out that Queensland Ijhs more wheat- titan is required and cannot iiud a market for it. Tho potato market is dull, as merchants are unable to obtain many orders and at the same time there, are j,ot many potatoes offering. iMuch of the low-lying potato land is jiow waterlogged, and t4ie crops are bound lo suffer. Tho crops at "Waimato are turning out well this year, but tho ground is now very wet where tho drainage is not good. A good deal of damage has been done io the potato crop at the Taieri, where all the flats have been inundated by the floods.

There is not much oatsheaf chaff offering and the business passing is limited. The following arc the prices paid to farmers at country stations, free of commission, sacks extra, except where otherwiso stated:— Milling wheat, according to Government price. Maximum—Pearl 5s 10d. Hunters os 9d, Tuscan and other varieties os Bd. f.o.b. Fowl wheat, about Id to 2d per bushel les3. Dressed seed wheat not more than Is per bushel abovo the maximum prices. Oats—Heavy -Algerian 3s 6d to ,1s Md, Gartons 3s 6d to 3s Sd, and Duns 3s 6d to 3s Sd for heavy dark-coloured, at country stations.

Barley (nominal) —Malting 4s 9d to os (3d. feed 4s. Flour—£ls per toil; 1001b bais. £15 10s; 501b bags. £15 15s: 251b hags, £16. Bran—£3 ]0s per ton. Pollard—£6 los per ion. Oatmeal—2slh bags. £21 per ton. Oatsheaf Chaff—£4 for prime. Peas—Partridge, 6s 3d to Gs Cd. Ryegrass—Perennial. 241b to 2-31b seed, 4s 9d; 221b to 231b, 3s Gd to ts; lightweight. 3s; Italian, 4s to 4s 3d; Westcrnwolths and Giant Italian, 4s 6d to os.

. Cocksfoot —121b to 131b seed, 9d "to IOId. Cowgrass—lid to 13d, according to quality. Potatoes (nominal).—£3 los to £4, for immediate delivery, and £-1 to £-1 os for June delivery. Onions—£s 10s to £6 per ton. DAIRY PRODUCE. The wholesale price of butter is auto-roat-icaliy raised id per lb this month. Kegs are beginning to bo more plentiful. "Wholesale prices are:— Butter—Factory, Is fijd (Jess discount): farmers' .• separator, Is 2d; dairy. Is Id. Cheese—Factorv lOd. duirv !?Id. Jo,if 10d. ' - Bacon—Sides Is Id. rolls Is 2d, hams Is 2d. Honcv—"Extruded. -IJd per lb. Eggs—23 3d per dozen. FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. Supplies of vegetables continue to be plentiful. Local apples and pears are inclined to !>e easier as there is no shipping business to he done. Supplies of Sydney fruit are likely to be scarcer owing to the difficulty of obtaining through space to Lyttelton. Wholesale jiriccs are:— Apples, dessert (is to 7s, cooking 4s to ss, pears os to Gs, Cook Island bananas 9s to 10s, Fiji bananas'lis to 12s 6d, 'Frisco lemons 30s, half-ease Kis, mandarins 13s to lis, Cook Island oranges Os to 10s. Sydney oranges 8s to os, pineapples 13s to lis, tomatoes 6s to 7s, grapes Is 3d to Is Gd per lb. Cabbages 2s 6d to 3s Gd per dozen, cauliflowers 3s tn Gs. (id. lettuces 2s to 2s Gel. marrows Is Gd to 2s, pumpkins 3s Gd to Is. Gd, beet Gd to 7d per dozen bundles, carrots 8d to 9d. leeks Gr] to 7d, parsnips Ikl to Is, turnips fid to lOd. rhubarb 7s to Bs, celery Sd to 9d per dozen, cucumbers 2s to 3s per ease, kumeras os to Gs, potatoes 8s to 9s per sack, and 2s to 2s 3d per sugar bag, swedes 4s to 5s Gd per sack, onions 'Js to 10s per cwt. RANCHOR.V HORSE FAIR. At the monthly Jiorno sale yesterday, I here was an entry of under 50, mostly aged sorts, for which there was practically no demand. There was a fair demand for good draughts, which, mado £2-3 to £33 for anything showing quality. Medium made Clt to £22, 1 ■•iged £S to £11. hacks £1 to £2 7s, unbroken £1 to £2, and aged hacks 10s to 20s. SHEFFIELD STOCK SALE. At the Sheffield stock sale yesterday there wero about 9CO sheep in the i'at pons, ewes, wethers and lambs being equally represented. Thcro was a good' | attendance of buyers. Lambs made "22s 5d to 29s 6d, ewes 24s lid to 33s j lOd, wethers 20s B<l to 355, and merino ! ewes 15s. There wero about 1500 store j .sheep yarded. Wethers made 28s 7d jto 31s Id, sound-mouthed ewes 225, ! four._ six and eight-tooth ewes 27s to ' 31s 7d, merino ewes 9s. lambs 20s 3d to 2Ss 2d. Tbere was a fairly largo entry of pigs. Breeding sows mad© £3, weaners 8s to 16s, small porkers 24s to 325. Dairy cows made £5 10s to £12. WELLINGTONS CUSTOMS REVENUE. (tress association telegram.) WELLINGTON, June 1. During May the Customs duties re- ! ceived in Wellington totalled -£89,229 15s lOd. compared with £03,-116 3.s in May, 1916. Last month's figures, however, were, an increase of £11.000 over the previous month's returns. The lifer dnfy ln;-t luonih amounted to I £2t!82 3s sr|. as ai;rir..?t CI £9:? 17 ; - 7d ia May. V'M.

TIMAIIU MARKETS. (SPECIAL TO "THE TRESS.") TIMARU, June 1. No business ha s been, heard of oh the local wheat market this week except tho salo of a line of about lUw sacks of Tuscan at tho'maximum price, and a few odd sales of minor importance. The demand continues keen, more particularly from. southern millers. Merchants hero regret their inability to alleviate tho position, as practically no stocks aro held in Timani, esccpt bv millers. It is hoped that the purchase.* by the Minister of Agriculture of a million bushels of wheat in Australia will bring tho relief so much desired and needed, especially by tho smaller millers. But whether tho purchase will prove as satisfactory as the Minister appears to anticipate remains to be seen. Fowl -wheat is still in good demand at full priccs. , . Oats aro much, firmer, owing probably to tho possibility of all tho available space between Australia and New Zealand beiug taken fon wheat and coal during the next few months. Supplies in the country aro light. I'riecs are very firm in. Southland. _ Ryegrass is in good demand, with very littlo offering. Small lines of cowgrass havo changed hands at Is to Is 3d per lb, according to quality. Oat'shcaf chaff is still selling at £4 per ton, on tracks, for good quality. Offerings arc light. Tho potato market) is weak. Today's quotation is £4, on trucks. Tho future of the market is hard to foreeast. Some contend that tho flood in tlio South must adversely affoct all crops which have not been, dug thore, and that : present, appearances indicate a sufficiency in Canterbury to sco tlio season through. Secrl potatoes are in good demand. Gamekeepers and Un-to-datcs selling readily at £1, country stations. RAKISH. BROS. THE HOMEFTNDERS. LETTING REPORT. Messrs Baker Bros., of 168 Manchester street, report having let tho following properties:—Account Mrs Mulligan, cottage, Allen street, to Mrs Thompson ; account Mr Atkinson, residence, Armagh street, to Mr Copland; account Mrs Timperlcy, residence, Colombo street, to Mr Griffiths; account owner, dwelling, Hereford street, to Mr W. McKenzio; account Mr Barrett, residence, Oxford terrace, to Mr McNorton : account Sirs' Newnham, cottage, Madras street, to Mr C. Harris; account Mr Flesher, residence, MaJrolm avenue, to Mr Booker; account Mr Lyons, cottage, St. Asaph street, to Mrs Anderson; account owner, residence, Allen streot; account Mr Chivers. cottage, Hanmcr street, to Mrs I>nke; account Mr Savin, bungalow, Albany street-, to Mr Edwards. 8695 chkistchurc&stock: EXCHANGE. Natiorral Bank* have -CBftod-• slightly and were -wanted y»sterday on 'Chango at 9s. South British Insurance shares were offered at £6. -with a. buyer at £5 16s. Union Steam preference shires are unaffected by tho proposed fnsion with the P. and O. S. N. Co., Ltd.,.and wero enquired for at ■££ (fe>Cd> (ex dir.).' LATEST QUOTATIONS. Bu y&m.\ Seller*. •C 8. d. X e.*d. . BAIN US— TCaiioiial ■. 5 !> 0 — Union ■ 55 0 0 — BREWERIES— Manning' -. — 4 n n "Ward .. — o IS 0 COALS— We?tport — .. 1 8 fi INSURANCE- - Sontb British _ o 16 0 800 SHIPPING— H'-'ddart-P3r'»f r .. IP .'t Unkin (pref.l cx div. .. 1 it C — NVOOIXENS--iiai9p™i .. — 7 i 6

MISCELLANEOUS — Canterbury Farmcra <.Vi-oji. (pre!.) .. ■ — 5 2 6 Colonial Sugar .. 21 15 0 — Colonial Sugar (Fiji and N.Z.I pref. , .. 20 17 fi — Mfl-son. Sfruthors (£1 pd.) 1 3 0 — X.J4. Paper Mills .. — t 10<I YESTERDAY'S' BUSINESS ON OTHER EXCHANGES. (I'KESS ASSOCIATION' TEI.EGRAMS.) DUNEDTN. HufWarl-I'arkcr, '29s 6d, 30s, DO* 6d, ZDs od, Ills aiR. 31s Gd. 31s 6d, 325. 32» 3d. 32s fid, 32s'fid. iir.s ftd. 33e: Bunk of New Zealand, jL'J,. 7s, £12 7s; AVcstport-Stoekton, 7s 7d.